3 Quotes to Ponder

“The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to.” Frida Kahlo

Resonate with this one? Sometimes for whatever reason, I can have a day or two where I don’t get to paint. Admittedly that is seldom at the moment. When I do paint after a couple of days break I realise I have to do it. Later on, I may well forget.

Interesting how we can forget what is good for us. One explanation, or reflection on this point, is that when painting and getting into it my energy becomes focussed. I feel a fusion of both my masculine and feminine energy.

Painting becomes a holistic practice. The masculine energy gives the focus I need to keep going and stay on the job. Then the feminine energy is nurturing the piece of work. This combination of energies seems quite rare in most of my daily life.

On reflection and following some helpful counselling, I started to see a tendency in my life to be nurturing. Struggling with the masculine side of my personality clearly affected my long-term wellness.

I have tried to address this intellectually. Now I am an artist the benefits of working on a regular basis helps me balance these energies in a practical way.

Here are a couple of quotes about finishing work

“Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes, work never begun. “Christina Rossetti

Maybe you are watching this video looking for some inspiration to get to work again. It is possible that the idea that you never finish anything fuels never doing it anyway. No chance of failure if you don’t do it anyway!

Maybe this is already a source of suffering if you already have been making artwork for some time and the road seems to be blocked to making any more. Again this can be for many reasons??

How do you get going again if you have lost the motivation or at least think this is why you aren’ working on your artwork? All matters to take into consideration.

Finishing

“No great work of art is ever finished.” Michelangelo

How reassuring and what a powerful observation. On many occasions, I have started some work and got to a point where it could be complete. Then I have a moment of doubt and try to do more.

This can spoil what I have already done. On the same token, I can “finish” a piece only a few months later pick it up again and do more with it.

A great work of art is finished when it is sold? Indeed on some occasions, I have “finished” a piece and when it has gone feel that I could have done more work on it.

We can complete our project in a few hours. On other occasions spending days or weeks before we feel that it is ready. Continually making paintings is the way to make paintings. Then it becomes easier to allow your instinctive self to make the decisions.